23 River Rock Landscaping Ideas for Your Garden & Yard

River rocks are essentially rocks, gravel or boulders that have been gathered from river beds or other places where water has given them smooth and rounded edges. This can include small pea gravel, larger stones ranging in size from lima beans to avocados, and larger rocks and boulders. River rock can be used for walkways, edging, in beds, in containers, on patios, for rain gardens, and a number of other ways.

Though river rock is a flexible material, there are some limitations with its use. Gravel or stone isn’t a great choice for a steep or inclined area as the weight of the stone over time will tend to slide to the bottom, helped along by rain and other factors. Stone can also be difficult to keep looking tidy, so using it in high traffic areas, or places near trees with a lot of leaf litter or fruit debris (like maples, gingkos, black walnuts or crabapples, to name a few) might cause a seasonal mess that will become tiresome to clean up year after year. Using a rake, broom and small leaf blower can help clear the debris.

River rock can be a useful material in a desert or xeriscape garden, and can be used as a coverage instead of mulch and provide drainage. However, due to its porosity it can be a friendly habitat for weeds! To prevent this, lay down landscaping fabric or sand beneath your gravel or rock layer. You can keep weed growth minimal by spraying with horticultural vinegar or salt water.

Stone Path

Garden path made with brown pea gravel, grey river rocks and large pavers — Fotosearch / Getty Images

This nice-looking stone path combines two sizes and colorways of river rock (tan pea gravel and grey stones) with large natural pavers, and smartly uses dividers to separate mulched areas from gravel to keep things neat.

Gravel Patio

Grey granite slabs and two sizes of gravel in a patio seating area with fire feature and wicker chairs

Create a Dry River Bed

Dry river bed with varying sizes of river rock and green plants

Gravel Firepit Area

Gravel walkway with circular seating area with firedish and four chairs in autumn

weathered wood fence surrounding gravel patio with wooden bench and potted plants

Easy Path Construction

Path in progress with pea gravel, old bricks, landscaping fabric, bucket and rake

Colorful Choices

Yellow-green foliage with round pea gravel and stones in shades of white, black, grey and brown

Pea Gravel Driveway and Entry

Modern era house with pea gravel drive and entry next to slate patio

Rock Garden with Creeping Groundcovers

Rock garden with gravel and larger rocks and creeping groundcover plants

Simple Weed-free Flower Beds

This flower bed-in-progress uses landscaping fabric with holes for plants and river rock gravel instead of mulch for a clean look that works to keep weeds at a minimum. Not all plants are suited to this type of planting, and prefer a more traditional soil culture. But many plants adapt well, including many shrubs, and most drought tolerant plants such as sedums and salvias.

An Unobtrusive Landscape

Sometimes you want the view to command your full attention. That calls for keeping your landscaping plan simple: a gravel patio, a couple of low maintenance ground cover plantings, and seating to enjoy your surroundings.

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Water Feature

Foto-Video-Studio / Getty Images

River rocks are a great choice to use in building a water feature, because their smooth surfaces catch the light so well as water trickles over them.

Neutral Stone and Color

Solidago / Getty Images

The gravel and granite boulders in this seating area provide a neutral backdrop for the bright red chairs and plantings of Russian sage and red bee balm in this pollinator friendly garden.

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Create a Zen Garden

Traditional zen rock gardens in Japan can be very large but you can create a smaller version in your yard using pea gravel and larger stones. The design is meant to display symbolic elements of nature, like the rippled lines in gravel representing ocean waves. using rounded river rock gravel will give your zen garden a smooth texture.

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Planters

Hi-Point / Getty Images

Using river rock as a decorative accent in your plants lets you play with colors, shapes and textures on a smaller scale. Pebbles can also help anchor plants in place and retain moisture.

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Xeriscape with Gravel

Xeriscape gardening in areas with low rainfall is a good fit with river rock design. Succulents, cacti and creeping drought-tolerant plants like the euphorbia pictured here do very well in a bed of pea gravel. Stone holds heat and cold, so this desert garden will also cool off nicely at night helped by the stone’s excellent conducting properties.

Starring: Succulents!

Succulents do very well with minimal soil and in fact grow very well in gravel. Being natives to desert climates, these plants thrive with the excellent drainage and heat preservation that a rocky environment provides. They’re versatile for design, too, coming in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colors.

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Build a Stone Sculpture

JUNHAO / Getty Images

Many river rocks have flat sides making them easy to stack up and form sculptures. These can be made with rocks of virtually any size, and can be placed throughout your garden, on a table or next to your entrance.

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Comfy Warm Pet Bed

You’ve probably noticed your dogs and cats love to spend time in the garden on a sunny day. Having gravel surfaces that hold onto the heat provides a nice place for them to lie down on a cooler day, and as a bonus, they’re not as likely to get dirty.

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Combine River Rocks and Clumping Grasses

katkov / Getty Images

Combining river rock gravel and small boulders with clumping native grasses is a simple, low-maintenance and striking garden plan. This one has smooth pea gravel and smooth rocks for edging, with rougher rocks placed among the plants for texture.

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Create a Round Bed for Yucca

Meindert van der Haven / Getty Images

Yucca are drought-tolerant plants that bloom every few years. Their dramatic shape can command an entire small bed and their low-water needs means gravel makes a good mulch for them. This simple design only requires pavers, gravel, a Yucca filamentosa plant, and, if desired landscaping fabric or sand beneath the gravel.

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Stone Planters on Stone Beds

This sleek design plan featuring stone planters on a bed of white pea gravel allows for an easy access and easy maintenance herb garden area with Mediterranean plants that enjoy the heated stone surfaces.

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Pebble Pots